Women's Water Polo vs. CSUSB (W 11-7)

There was a reason for the change in the weather. It's pretty simple. We've had weeks of 70 to 80 degree sunny southern California weather. Schedule a water polo game and you schedule cold and rain; like clockwork. Just yesterday it was gorgeous. Today it bordered on miserable. OK, maybe I'm overstating things a bit but it was cold and wet. Did it bother our team? Nope. Bulldog water polo players are tough and so are their fans. We played two games today as part of our own mini-tournament. I overslept and missed the first game (still recovering from my landing on the dive) but I was told we opened the season with an impressive victory over the Sagehens, the returning SCIAC Champions. I made it to the second game against the Coyotes of CSU San Bernardino and I watched multiple line shifts take their turn controlling the ball, passing, and playing hard defense. Once in the lead, we held the Coyotes at bay despite a flurry of activity in the final quarter. A word to the wise, when you come out and watch our next home match on February 26th, bring an umbrella. Great start to the season. Go Dawgs!

Swim and Dive vs. La Verne

This is the kind of day you sit back at Thompson Aquatic Center and wonder why anyone lives anywhere else. I did. It was 70 degrees on the deck with snow capped mountains, blue skies, and palm trees framing the view. We take Redlands for granted some days, but not today. This was exceptional. And for those fans that made it out, they got to see another exceptional performance by our Bulldogs against the Leopards of La Verne. Our men should remain undefeated in SCIAC (6-0) while our women should move to 5-1. I arrived as the diving was coming to a close so I made one unsanctioned attempt at the 1m board. Hey, I thought I could score a few points for the team. The landing didn't go as well as planned but we didn't need the points anyway. This minor fiasco was followed by my favorite event, the 200 fly. If there ever was a stroke made for a bulldog, that's it. But the referee stopped me as I hopped on the block... We looked strong in all the events. I recommend everyone come out and catch us against CMS next Saturday. Bring some sunscreen. Cheer on our Dawgs!

Men's Basketball vs. Whittier (W 83-66)

Currier Gym was as loud as I've ever heard it tonight. I don't remember 700 plus people before, but with many staying on after the Women's game and others showing up with their kids for the halftime shoot-around and give aways, it was packed. For the first 20 minutes, everyone was treated to an evenly played game between Bulldogs and Poets. Our men fell behind early but they closed that gap quickly and took a four point lead into half time. In the second half we stretched our lead to 19 and closed the book on the Poets by shooting near 50 percent from the floor and 83 percent from the line. Jordan ended with an amazing 27 points amply supported by three others in double digits, Tristan, Andrew, and Stephen. We're now tied for second in league with away games against the Sagehens and the Stags next week before returning home to play Oxy at Maroon Out on February 2. Let's get another 700 into the gym. The student section should be that loud, proud, and painted every game.

Women's Basketball vs. Whittier (W 75-43)

Playing again without our leading scorer Courtney, Coach must have stressed defense to our team as a means of holding Whittier in check. It worked. The Poets couldn't compose a point for the first 9 minutes of the game and what was supposed to be a battle of the co-SCIAC leaders turned into a rout early on. We had eight blocks and held our opponent to 23 percent shooting from the floor. It was a master class in defense. On the offensive side, Mariah led the way as she exploded for 25 points. Chelsea chipped in 10 from the bench and Brittany pulled down 11 boards. Our 21 total assists helped everyone on the team score. Even all the kids who streamed onto the floor at half time got the opportunity to score. Great fun. Now our ladies have two tough away games before returning to Currier Gym on February 3 for Maroon Out. We'll see you all then. Go Dawgs!